Bolo

[rich]

Are you forgetting that Bobby Flay doesn't cook?

I thought the reason chefs buy restaurants was to become famous so they don't have to cook anymore.

[mikec]

there are various threads covering this.  but, for me, i think flay is a bit of an obnoxious prick.  i don't like mean people.  and Mesa Grill has given me attitude on more than on occasion.  so basically, i don't think i like the guy very much, and i *know* i don't like some of the people he has working for him.

Oh my...you of all people are sensitive?

[tommy]

there are various threads covering this.  but, for me, i think flay is a bit of an obnoxious prick.  i don't like mean people.  and Mesa Grill has given me attitude on more than on occasion.  so basically, i don't think i like the guy very much, and i *know* i don't like some of the people he has working for him.

Oh my...you of all people are sensitive?

yeah, that heartless callus cold uncaring bastard persona is just a front.

Edited June 5, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Fat Guy]

I suggest someone actually EAT at the place before lambasting Flay... If its good, its good... if it sucks, it sucks... thats all there is to it.

Apparently, only William Grimes has ever eaten there.

[mikec]

there are various threads covering this.  but, for me, i think flay is a bit of an obnoxious prick.  i don't like mean people.  and Mesa Grill has given me attitude on more than on occasion.  so basically, i don't think i like the guy very much, and i *know* i don't like some of the people he has working for him.

Oh my...you of all people are sensitive?

yeah, that heartless callus cold uncaring bastard persona is just a front.

Well then, I hope that you don't break out into tears when I tell you that you forgot to use commas.

[inventolux]

There are 2 ways I approach Flayism, first its OK to never be present at your restaurant as long as those in charge are worthy to uphold the highest standards. Anyone eat at Mcdonalds lately? Did you meet the chef? Who cares? It was what you were looking for.

Second, the american dream...democracy...politics will always bind the fabric of our society. Its best to create a system in a restaurant that can produce an experience that can be duplicated so more people can enjoy it. As a former starving chef I would have loved the chance to eat at a place like Daniel or Charlie Trotters. Its people like flay who are bringing the costs down so more of the population can have access to it. One must respect that even if one hates it. There will always be "top tier" restaurants, if a chef can perfect the art of stamping out a four star restaurant in New York and bring the same or better experience to Chicago, then we have truly evolved.

If we can create a chicken mcnugget(which has 77 ingredients by the way) that is exactly the same from Zimbabwe to the lower east side of Manhattan, then we can perfect 4 star chain restaurants that WILL BE CONSISTENT from city to city and state to state with the highest standards in mind. Flay may have not executed this dream yet, but his vision for the future of fine dining is in the right direction. Nobody gets it perfect on the first attempt or the first thousand attempts.

Edited June 5, 2003 by inventolux (log)

[Bux]

Its best to create a system in a restaurant that can produce an experience that can be duplicated so more people can enjoy it. As a former starving chef

Are you no longer a chef, or are they feeding you at the restaurant?

Have you read Pepin's The Apprentice? He's quite proud of the work he did at Howard Johnson. Unfortunately, all of that has disappeared under the present management, but he claims to have brought home frozen food prepared at the central kitchens and served chefs and gourmets with success.

[tan319]

The answer may surprise you -- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/04/dining/04REST.html

I had read that review awhile ago and missed the 3 star thing.

Much like I missed the '1' star he gave Douglas Rodrieguez' new place, 'Ola', after a pretty great review. I don't get it...

I used to live down the the st. from Bolo and had quite a few dinners there at the bar (dining solo). I used to love Brachman's desserts. I liked the food quite a bit, although it was kind of heavy on the butter, it seemed.

I used to eat at Mesa Grill alot too.

His demeanor on his tv shows do kind of make one think he's a bit of a prick though.

[AIK72]

I have never been a big Bobby Flay fan, either on tv or at Mesa. Don't get me wrong, I found the food very good and his choice of high quality ingredients always interesting. I never liked Bolo the few times I had been there and hated his uptown restaurant. Having said that, my wife and I were invited to Bolo by another couple. I was not looking forward to it.

Boy, was I suprised. In the past, I found the menu at Bolo to be lacking in imagination, but the revamped menu was fantastic. We orded six different appetizers and each was delicious. The grilled octopus was on par with some of the best examples from my travels through Portugal and Greece. I ordered the grilled rabbit wrapped in serrano ham. I recommend it to anyone who loves either ingredient. The staff was highly professional. Even though it was crowded, we were not rushed.

Whatever you think of Bobby, good food is good food, and Bolo was one of the best dinner experiences I have had in long time.

[SobaAddict70]

Just heard Signor Grimes give his weekly restaurant review on NY1.

This time, he reviewed WD-50.

And he gave the restaurant two stars, not three.

Soba

[Jason Perlow]

Just heard Signor Grimes give his weekly restaurant review on NY1.

This time, he reviewed WD-50.

And he gave the restaurant two stars, not three.

Soba

Oh my.

[KNorthrup]

I suggest all of us die hards take a cue from Jim Jones, I'm loading up on purple number 4.

Why don't people make jokes about Jonestown?

The punchline's too long.

[Fat Guy]

Two out of three courses on the year-round $20 lunch at Bolo today were excellent. If you don't mind a really poor dessert, you can have a very enjoyable lunch at Bolo for less than the price of an entree at plenty of places that aren't as good.

The "tapas plate" includes three small appetizers in little square dishes on a larger square plate. No, it's not possible to arrange three square dishes well on one square plate, so it looks like there's a dish missing, but whatever. All three are quite good, and it's really impressive that they're selling such a labor-intensive and elaborate appetizer as part of the loss-leader menu. Dish number one is an almost gooey "salt-cod fritter" (though I imagine it's made with fresh fish rather than the dried salted stuff -- it's not pungent at all) with a garlic-parsley sauce. Number two is cured salmon -- a very nice, fatty slice -- with piquillo pepper and a little fennel salad. And number three is duck "prosciutto" with a bread salad. Not a dud in the bunch.

My friend's appetizer was also pretty good, for a salad: it was basically an upscale Spanish version of the chopped salad you'd get at a steakhouse. It had maybe romaine lettuce, plus chick peas, cucumbers, red beans, bread chips, and a "Spanish Farmers Cheese" all chopped up and tossed.

The other appetizer choice, not tasted by me, is a butternut squash soup with toasted almonds and pomegranate mollases.

And then, a really superior entree: it is described on the menu, badly, as "Crispy Buckwheat Flatbread with Serrano Ham, Manchego Cheese, Baked Egg & White Truffle Oil." What it is, is basically a ham and manchego mini-pizza with an egg cracked over it. The truffle oil is harmless in this dish, and the whole package makes for a terrific lunch.

We both had this, so I didn't get to taste either the shrimp or chicken entree. I'd probably have this pizza thing 10 times before branching out, though, and since I'll be having my 10th visit to Bolo right around the time hell freezes over I doubt I'll ever get to try them.

Desserts, what's up here? Either Bolo doesn't have a pastry chef, or the pastry chef got the instruction "for the $20.03 lunch desserts, your budget is the .03 -- good luck." One of the desserts is a "chocolate terrine" with fromage blanc and roasted pears. The chocolate terrine is, I guess, a big block of mediocre frosting like you'd get on a store-bought cake, and they cut slices off this brick like you would cut slices off a foie gras terrine. So you basically get two slices of frosting plus the garnishes. Not a good dessert. But the really impressive one, from a sheer badness perspective, is the "autumn fruit couscous." What the heck? I'm having trouble finding the words to describe it. Maybe I'll think of an analogy later, but it's unlike anything I've ever eaten -- including couscous -- and not in a good way. To be fair, the accompanying cassis-plum sorbet is quite tasty as is the little fresh fig it sits on/in.

Anyway, if you're over in the Gramercy/Flatiron area and you want a $20 lunch, Bolo seems a wise choice. We just walked in without a reservation, no problem. Service was very competent, the room is upbeat, there's lots of light coming in from outside at lunchtime -- not much to complain about except those silly desserts. Maybe if you asked they'd just give you the cassis-plum sorbet in a larger portion. Even just as it is, it's a sufficient little dessert for lunchtime.

Oh, they also have pretty good bread and a little assortment of olives on the table.

[Carlovski]

My friend's appetizer was also pretty good, for a salad

Quote of the week

[Bux]

My friend's appetizer was also pretty good, for a salad

Quote of the week

Real [fat] men don't eat salad? That caught my eye as well. I was even more struck by the comment about the "salt-cod fritter"

(though I imagine it's made with fresh fish rather than the dried salted stuff -- it's not pungent at all)

I'm not sure I follow, but it may be because the average quality of "salt cod" in New York, which is often not cod at all, is so far below the accepted standard in Spain, Italy or France. On the other hand we all have blind spots and as I often crave the bacalaitos fried in oil that's changed almost every year along the beach in shacks and stands in Puerto Rico, I may have a high tolerance for pungent salt cod. Seriously though, I doubt many Americans have had quality salt cod and might not distinguish it from fresh. I'm told it's even better in Portugal than in Spain. In Spain there are whole shops that are devoted to salt cod and they're not that tiny. Cod of various qualities is sold at different prices and the cod is divided into parts not unlike the way a pork butcher would sell, chops, ribs and butts and fresh hams. The dried salted jowls, of course, commant the highest prices, but the boneless loin will sell for more than the tail for instance.

It sounds as if it's a good deal and would be even with "pungent" salt cod. I don't know what's up with the desserts. Did they bear any resemblance to the desserts on the a la carte menu?

[Fat Guy]

I doubt many Americans have had quality salt cod and might not distinguish it from fresh.

You can probably count me in that group. I think of salt cod as having a very pronounced aquatic and (surprise) salty flavor. I suppose it's possible that Bolo has acquired some really good salt-cod, or salted and dried some on premises, and has done a luscious brandade with it, but I got the impression that this fritter was more of a brandade-type thing made from fresh fish, the way they sometimes do it at Gramercy Tavern to accompany the cod entree (basically, they're buying whole cod and serving the nice loin pieces as entrees, and they use the trimmings and irregular pieces to make the faux-fresh brandade for a garnish). I could be wrong. We'd have to ask.

I don't know what's up with the desserts. Did they bear any resemblance to the desserts on the a la carte menu?

No, they did not. I'm speaking purely from a menu-reading perspective here, but the a la carte dessert options looked far more like real restaurant desserts.

[Bux]

Proper soaking and rinsing will rid dried salted cod of any noticeable saltiness. On the whole, I find recipes call for more soaking than is necessary, but obviously the longer you soak the fish and the more times you rinse it, the less salt will remain so recipe writers probably err on the excessive side for good reason. I wonder even if an educated palate could tell the difference between a brandade or croquette made from fresh cod from one properly made from the best salt cod. The texture of well soaked salt cod is still different from fresh cod and I'm sure it makes a difference in many dishes, but where it's beaten up and part of a batter (the croquettes) I don't know.

My thought on the desserts was that the lunch prix fixe might serve as a laboratory. It's just a guess and not an educated guess.

[clg]

Is Bolo's $20 lunch available on weekends too -- or only Monday - Friday?

Thanks

Edited October 30, 2003 by clg (log)

[Fat Guy]

I don't think they're open for lunch on weekends at all, but you can double check at http://www.bolorestaurant.com

[Dave the Cook]

The truffle oil is harmless in this dish . . .

What does this mean?

[slkinsey]

The truffle oil is harmless in this dish . . .

What does this mean?

I assumed it was a reference to the fact that too much truffle oil can really taste nasty.

[Dave the Cook]

The truffle oil is harmless in this dish . . .

What does this mean?

I assumed it was a reference to the fact that too much truffle oil can really taste nasty.

That possibility occurred to me, but "harmless" is an odd way to express that notion. More accurate to say "there's just the right amount of truffle oil," rather than make it sound like the condiment is armed and dangerous. So perhaps FG simply doesn't like truffle oil?

[slkinsey]

So perhaps FG simply doesn't like truffle oil?

Hmmm... maybe so. Although, if true, he concealed it admirably when I served him grits mixed with truffle carpaccio and truffle oil alongside some double cut pork chops a few weeks ago.

[Bux]

Perhaps I'm missing something in this conversation and maybe Fat Guy will clear this up, but I assumed it was Fat Guy's way saying there wasn't enough truffle oil to make much of a difference in the dish one way or another, which is to say it was hard to notice.

[Dave the Cook]

If he wants to come in and clear it up, that's fine. But I personally think it's a lot more fun to speculate.